It is desired that absorbent articles such as diapers, training pants and incontinence garments provide a close, comfortable fit about the wearer and contain body exudates. Moreover, it is desirable that such absorbent articles, after being soiled, can be removed from the wearer in a convenient and clean manner without undesirably soiling the caregiver or surrounding area such as the clothes of the wearer. In certain circumstances, it is also desirable that such absorbent articles are capable of being pulled up or down over the hips of the wearer to allow the wearer or caregiver to easily pull the article on and easily remove the article if it has not been soiled. For example, such absorbent articles can assist in the toilet training of children.
Conventional diapers have typically included a front waist portion and a back waist portion which are releasably connected about the hips of the wearer during use by conventional fasteners such as adhesive tape fasteners or hook and loop type fasteners. For example, the conventional fasteners have included a pair of fasteners, such as adhesive tape tabs, located on the outermost corners of the diaper in the back waist region of the diaper and a complimentary fastener, such as a taping panel, located on the outer surface of the outer cover of the diaper in the front waist portion of the diaper. In such a configuration, the diaper has been positioned between the legs of the wearer and the adhesive tape tabs have been releasably attached to the taping panel to secure the back waist portion to the front waist portion of the diaper to secure the diaper about the waist of the wearer. Such conventional diapers are easy to fasten about and remove from the wearer after use without undesirably soiling the caregiver.
However, such conventional diapers are not provided in a prefastened configuration and thus are not configured to be pulled up or down over the hips of the wearer when the fasteners are attached. Moreover, such conventional diapers generally have one set of fasteners which must be disengaged and reattached to further conform the waist portions of the diaper to the wearer. Such disengagement and reattachment can be difficult to accomplish when the wearer is active.
Several attempts have been made to provide absorbent articles which fit the waist of the wearer to effectively contain body exudates, are capable of being pulled up or down over the hips of the wearer and provide ease of cleaning and removal after being soiled. For example, some conventional absorbent articles, such as conventional training pants, have included integral side panels which connect the front waist portion to the back waist portion of the absorbent article. The side panels have been made stretchable such that the waist opening of the absorbent article can expand to allow the absorbent article to be pulled up or down over the hips of the wearer if desired. Such side panels have also been designed such that they may be torn to remove the training pant from the wearer after it has been soiled.
However, many of such attempts have not been completely satisfactory. For example, absorbent articles such as training pants have not always been able to achieve a close conforming fit to the wearer while still being able to expand enough to be pulled up and down over the hips of the wearer. Often such training pants fit the waist of the wearer loosely which can undesirably result in leaks. As a result, many of such articles have not always contained bodily exudates as effectively as conventional diaper-type articles which can be adjusted to achieve a more conforming fit to the wearer. Moreover, the removal of soiled absorbent articles which have integral side panels, such as conventional training pants, has not always been completely satisfactory. For example, the side panels have been difficult to tear when attempting to remove the article from the waist of the wearer instead of pulling the article down over the hips of the wearer.
Accordingly, despite the attempts to develop improved absorbent articles, there remains a need for absorbent articles which can provide the benefits of both conventional training pants and conventional diapers. That is, there remains a need for absorbent articles which conform to the wearer to effectively contain bodily exudates, which are capable of being pulled up and down over the hips and buttocks of the wearer without opening, and which are readily secured about and removed from the wearer in a convenient and clean manner. Moreover, there is a need for improved methods of reliably and consistently making such absorbent articles.